On sunday (local time), police and federal officials looked for a shooter who shot and wounded three college students of Palestinian heritage in Burlington, Vermont, in what detectives believe was a hate-motivated incident, according to authorities. According to Burlington police, a guy with a handgun shot the three victims on a street near the university of Vermont on saturday evening and then fled.

According to authorities, two of the victims are US citizens, while the third is a lawful US resident. They are all 20 years old. According to police, two of the males were wearing keffiyehs, the characteristic black-and-white checkered scarf of Middle Eastern attire, at the time of the incident.

According to the Institute for Middle east Understanding, a non-profit pro-Palestinian advocacy organisation, the victims were speaking Arabic when they were attacked, and the perpetrator opened fire on the three men after yelling and harassing them. According to police, he fired four bullets without saying anything.

Since the latest wave of Israeli-Palestinian killing erupted in the Middle east on october 7, there has been an increase in anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic events reported across the United States. "In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime," said Burlington police Chief Jon Murad in a statement.

"I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it's proven," Murad continued, adding that the criminal investigation was now focused on apprehending the suspect.

"That there is an indication that this shooting could have been motivated by hate is chilling, and this possibility is being prioritised" on the part of law enforcement, Miro Weinberger, the mayor, stated.

Earlier in the day, the relatives of the victims published a united statement requesting police to investigate the shooting as a hate crime, as did the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a US-based advocacy group.

"This surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment is unprecedented." "This is yet another example of hatred turned violent," stated ADC National Executive director Abed Ayoub.

The victims' family recognised them as Hisham Awartani of Brown university in Rhode Island, Kinnan Abdel Hamid of Haverford college in Pennsylvania, and Tahseen ahmed of Trinity college in Connecticut. According to the families, all three are alumni of the Ramallah Friends school, a private Quaker high school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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G GOWTHAM

27/11/2023 09:19 AM